I love these things so much, I am rebooting my original post with more deliciousness. Potstickers, Chinese Zhao Ji, Japanese Gyoza, Korean Mandu, and Peking Ravioli (if you are from the Bah-stin area) are essentially the same thing. They vary in size and filling. In my opinion, Peking ravioli can be too-far Americanized in some restaurants and can sometimes be double deep fried with a strange moo go gai pan flavor. Be careful if you order Peking Ravioli from the menu, as it may be off the mark. Know your restaurant or ask the server. Mostly it should be just a name change to cater to the Boston area clientele – kind of like those soft Chinese rolls and other unique flavors that exist no where else.

I had to make the wrappers by hand and hoisin sauce in addition to the filling. You can go ahead and cheat and buy your dumpling wrappers and buy some hoisin. Just so you know Wonton wrappers tend to be egg based and thinner and while round dumpling wrappers tend to be thicker and usually have no egg in them. To be honest, I don’t think it makes much of a difference — they are both tasty. However, if you want the classic dumpling shape, your wrapper needs to be round. Can you make them with the squares. Sure. Do what you want, it will still taste good!

I have some recipe variations to share. I am an inconsistent cook of course and I often create Frankenrecipes. It’s just how I roll. I have used each of these versions and mixed and matched them to my own tastes and what’s in my pantry at the time, or sometimes I just simplify because I’m lazy.

Optional: hot pepper flakes or sriracha to tasteVegetarian? No problem! Just take out the pork and put in more cabbage, shitake mushrooms, and at your choice celery and carrots. Just don’t like pork? Well then try shrimp or beef or turkey. Don’t like that much cabbage, then reduce it to a cup and adjust accordingly — you rebel.

Combine all ingredients. You don’t have to wilt your cabbage, but in my experience it works out better to do so especially if you use a lot of cabbage like I do. Let marinate in fridge while you prepare the wrappers if you are making your own. When ready, fill each dumpling round with filling. Don’t over fill. How much depends on the wrapper. A thicker wrapper can hold more nicely than a thinner one. Experiment with 1/2 to 1 tablespoon until you get it just right. Fold the wrapper into a half-moon shape. Pinch and crimp to seal with your fingers. I promise that imperfect ones will taste just as good. The important thing is to get a good seal so they don’t bust open.We are going to pan-fry, then boil-steam, and pan-fry. One pot!

Uh…just don’t forget to pan fry in oil first. Trust me on this. (Scrape. Scrape. Scrape.) Trust me.Arrange the dumplings in a non-stick pan touching with the sealed ends up with some oil. Fry until the bottoms are a nice golden brown. Add water to come up halfway up the dumplings and cover (clear lid is helpful). The lid will hold in the steam. Cook until the water is nearly gone. Remove cover and let the rest evaporate and this will be the second fry.

Serve with soy sauce or your favorite dipping sauce. These can also frozen prior to cooking or added directly to soup to boil rather than doing the pan-fry method.

Part 2:

I have a lot of unusual ingredients in my pantry, but I never seem to have this gosh dangit sauce. So, I make it my damn self in about five minutes.

Dissolve corn starch in water. Put rest of ingredients into a small sauce pan. Heat until the molasses and peanut butter begin to melt together (a minute or two). Add the corn starch mixture and stir stir stir until thickened. Let cool.

It is less sweet as the ratio of soy sauce to sugar is reversed. Visit the page for insight and details. The peanut butter and molasses don’t mix as smoothly together because this version is not heated.

Note: if I was using my pasta maker I would probably use 3 eggs and go easier on the water.

Combine flour, salt, eggs, and water. Don’t use all the water at once, some flour takes more water than others and you don’t want your dough to be wet. Kneed the dough for a couple of minutes then cover and let rest about 30 minutes (this lets the gluten relax and makes it much easier to work the dough when rolling by hand). Knead the dough until smooth. Let rest 15 to 20 minutes after kneading. Divide dough into fourths. Roll out as thin as you can get it. Use a round cutter or cut squares to the size of your liking. If storing on top of each other, dust witch cornstarch to prevent sticking.

Homemade Dumpling Wrappers (no eggs)

Very similar to wonton but with no eggs — just flour, water, and salt. So easy you could eye ball the ingredients and it would turn out fine. Let one of my favorite Korean Cuisine channels Maangchi show you.